CVE-2021-22204

CRITICALNVD 6.89.0▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-17), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 6.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 3 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: 100%CVSS: 6.8Exploit: cisa kev · ssvc active · Metasploit · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed: 0

A fix is available — apply it.

Improper neutralization of user data in the DjVu file format in ExifTool versions 7.44 and up allows arbitrary code execution when parsing the malicious image

CVSS v3
6.8
EG Score
9.0(high)
EG Risk
81(Attend)
EG Risk 81/100SSVC: Attend

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity90% × 45%
Exploitation100% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
Action: Remediate soon — notable exploitation risk.
EPSS PROB
100%
EPSS %ILE
100%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

April 23, 2021

Last Modified

November 3, 2025

Advisory Details (8)

Auto-updated Jun 11, 2026
🔬 Proof of concept available. Patch available. Sources: github_commit.
generic Patch Available

[SECURITY] [DLA 2663-1] libimage-exiftool-perl security update

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/05/msg00018.html
generic

HackerOne

https://hackerone.com/reports/1154542
generic

2021/CVE-2021-22204.json · master · GitLab.org / GitLab CVE assignments · GitLab

https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cves/-/blob/master/2021/CVE-2021-22204.json
github_commit

commit cf0f4e7dcd02 (exiftool/exiftool)

Fix landed in exiftool/exiftool commit cf0f4e7dcd02 — awaiting tagged release

https://github.com/exiftool/exiftool/commit/cf0f4e7dcd024ca99615bfd1102a841a25dde031#diff-fa0d652d10dbcd246e6b1df16c1e992931d3bb717a7e36157596b76bdadb3800
generic🟡 PoC Available

oss-security - Re: [CVE-2021-22204] ExifTool - Arbitrary code execution in the DjVu module when parsing a malicious image

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/10/5
generic Patch Available

oss-security - [CVE-2021-22204] ExifTool - Arbitrary code execution in the DjVu module when parsing a malicious image

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/09/1
generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164768/GitLab-Unauthenticated-Remote-ExifTool-Command-Injection.html
generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162558/ExifTool-DjVu-ANT-Perl-Injection.html

Patch Availability(2)

Vendor / EcosystemFixed in / PatchReleasedSource
ubuntulibimage-exiftool-perl (11.88-1ubuntu0.1) @ focal2026-09-19ubuntu
ubuntulibimage-exiftool-perl (10.10-1ubuntu0.1~esm1) @ xenial2026-09-19ubuntu

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Affected Packages

(6 across 6 ecosystems)
Debian:10(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
libimage-exiftool-perl11.16-111.16-1+deb10u1—
Debian:11(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
libimage-exiftool-perl—12.16+dfsg-2—
Debian:12(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
libimage-exiftool-perl—12.16+dfsg-2—
Debian:13(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
libimage-exiftool-perl—12.16+dfsg-2—
Debian:14(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
libimage-exiftool-perl—12.16+dfsg-2—
Debian:9(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
libimage-exiftool-perl10.40-110.40-1+deb9u1—

Weakness Classification(2)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

All Vendor Advisories

(2)

Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 81× in last 7d / 312× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 1,153 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-09-19 19:42 UTCVendor advisory
  2. 2026-09-19 19:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-19 15:24 UTCVendor advisory
  4. 2026-09-19 15:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-09-19 11:06 UTCVendor advisory
  6. 2026-09-19 11:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-09-19 06:48 UTCVendor advisory
  8. 2026-09-19 06:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-09-19 02:31 UTCVendor advisory
  10. 2026-09-19 02:31 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-09-18 22:13 UTCVendor advisory
  12. 2026-09-18 22:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-09-18 19:20 UTCCISA KEV update
  14. 2026-09-18 17:56 UTCVendor advisory
  15. 2026-09-18 17:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-09-18 14:15 UTCCISA KEV update
  17. 2026-09-18 13:39 UTCVendor advisory
  18. 2026-09-18 13:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-09-18 09:21 UTCVendor advisory
  20. 2026-09-18 09:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-09-18 05:03 UTCVendor advisory
  22. 2026-09-18 05:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-09-18 00:46 UTCVendor advisory
  24. 2026-09-18 00:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-09-17 20:28 UTCVendor advisory
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-09-17 20:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-09-17 16:10 UTCVendor advisory
  3. 2026-09-17 16:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-09-17 11:53 UTCVendor advisory
  5. 2026-09-17 11:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-09-17 07:35 UTCVendor advisory
  7. 2026-09-17 07:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-09-17 03:17 UTCVendor advisory
  9. 2026-09-17 03:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-09-16 22:59 UTCVendor advisory
  11. 2026-09-16 22:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-09-16 18:41 UTCVendor advisory
  13. 2026-09-16 18:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-09-16 14:23 UTCVendor advisory
  15. 2026-09-16 14:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-09-16 14:10 UTCCISA KEV update
  17. 2026-09-16 10:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-09-16 05:47 UTCVendor advisory
  19. 2026-09-16 05:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-09-16 01:30 UTCVendor advisory
  21. 2026-09-16 01:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-09-15 21:12 UTCVendor advisory
  23. 2026-09-15 21:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-09-15 16:54 UTCVendor advisory
  25. 2026-09-15 16:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  26. 2026-09-15 12:36 UTCVendor advisory
  27. 2026-09-15 12:36 UTCGHSA enrichment
  28. 2026-09-15 08:18 UTCVendor advisory
  29. 2026-09-15 08:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  30. 2026-09-15 04:01 UTCVendor advisory
  31. 2026-09-15 04:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  32. 2026-09-14 23:43 UTCVendor advisory
  33. 2026-09-14 23:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
  34. 2026-09-14 19:25 UTCVendor advisory
  35. 2026-09-14 19:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  36. 2026-09-14 19:24 UTCCISA KEV update
  37. 2026-09-14 15:07 UTCVendor advisory
  38. 2026-09-14 15:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-09-14 10:49 UTCVendor advisory
  40. 2026-09-14 10:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-09-14 06:32 UTCVendor advisory
  42. 2026-09-14 06:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-09-14 02:14 UTCVendor advisory
  44. 2026-09-14 02:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  45. 2026-09-13 21:57 UTCVendor advisory
  46. 2026-09-13 21:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  47. 2026-09-13 17:39 UTCVendor advisory
  48. 2026-09-13 17:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-09-13 13:22 UTCVendor advisory
  50. 2026-09-13 13:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  51. 2026-09-13 09:04 UTCVendor advisory
  52. 2026-09-13 09:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  53. 2026-09-13 04:47 UTCVendor advisory
  54. 2026-09-13 04:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  55. 2026-09-13 00:29 UTCVendor advisory
  56. 2026-09-13 00:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  57. 2026-09-12 20:12 UTCVendor advisory
  58. 2026-09-12 20:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  59. 2026-09-12 15:53 UTCVendor advisory
  60. 2026-09-12 15:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  61. 2026-09-12 11:35 UTCVendor advisory
  62. 2026-09-12 11:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  63. 2026-09-12 07:17 UTCVendor advisory
  64. 2026-09-12 07:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  65. 2026-09-12 02:59 UTCVendor advisory
  66. 2026-09-12 02:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-09-11 22:42 UTCVendor advisory
  68. 2026-09-11 22:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  69. 2026-09-11 18:49 UTCCISA KEV update
  70. 2026-09-11 18:23 UTCVendor advisory
  71. 2026-09-11 18:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  72. 2026-09-11 14:05 UTCVendor advisory
  73. 2026-09-11 14:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
  74. 2026-09-11 09:47 UTCVendor advisory
  75. 2026-09-11 09:47 UTCGHSA enrichment

Publicly available exploits

(10 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (8 GitHub PoCs) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCAkash7350/CVE-2021-22204
    First seen May 14, 2023
    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-50911
    First seen May 11, 2022

    ExifTool 12.23 - Arbitrary Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCUNICORDev/exploit-CVE-2021-22204
    First seen Apr 16, 2022

    Exploit for CVE-2021-22204 (ExifTool) - Arbitrary Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCmr-tuhin/CVE-2021-22204-exiftool
    First seen Feb 21, 2022

    exiftool exploit

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCtrganda/CVE-2021-22204
    First seen Dec 29, 2021
    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCph-arm/CVE-2021-22204-Gitlab
    First seen Nov 4, 2021

    Modification of gitlab exploit anything under 13.10

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCPenTestical/CVE-2021-22204
    First seen Aug 2, 2021
    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCAssassinUKG/CVE-2021-22204
    First seen Aug 2, 2021
    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/unix/fileformat/exiftool_djvu_ant_perl_injection✓ verified
    First seen May 24, 2021

    ExifTool DjVu ANT Perl injection

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCbilkoh/POC-CVE-2021-22204
    First seen May 21, 2021

    POC for exiftool vuln (CVE-2021-22204).

    Open source ↗

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2021-22204?
CVE-2021-22204 is a critical vulnerability published on April 23, 2021. Improper neutralization of user data in the DjVu file format in ExifTool versions 7.44 and up allows arbitrary code execution when parsing the malicious image
When was CVE-2021-22204 disclosed?
CVE-2021-22204 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on April 23, 2021, with the most recent update on November 3, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2021-22204 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2021-22204 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on November 17, 2021, affecting Perl Exiftool. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-22204?
CVE-2021-22204 has a CVSS v3 base score of 6.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0.
Which products are affected by CVE-2021-22204?
CVE-2021-22204 affects Perl Exiftool. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2021-22204?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2021-22204, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2021-22204

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